US stocks mostly lower on trade war worries

New York: Wall Street stocks mostly fell early Tuesday on worries about US trade conflicts with several countries.

About 20 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.2 percent at 25,801.95.

The broad-based S&P 500 slipped 0.2 percent to 2,872.81, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added less than 0.1 percent to 7,926.35.

Investors were monitoring US trade relations on various fronts, with Canada’s top diplomat Chrystia Freeland due back in Washington Tuesday for more talks, and after another round of negotiations between US and European officials concluded Monday without a deal.

China plans to ask the World Trade Organization next week for permission to impose sanctions on the United States over anti-dumping practices taken against some Chinese products.

The conflict, the subject of a WTO dispute resolution meeting next week, marks another front in the burgeoning dispute between the world’s two biggest economies.

The US economic calendar was relatively light Tuesday, but picks up later in the week with reports on inflation and retail sales.

Canaccord also praised a controversial Nike spot involving American footballer and civil rights activist Colin Kaepernick as an attention-grabbing “stroke of genius” that has “likely done more good than harm” to the brand.